Why Be Normal?

Google is a wonderful thing. I don’t know any of the technical magic behind it, but the braintrust responsible for it has managed to cull together a huge chunk of the world’s collected knowledge . As someone who used to read the dictionary and various volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica for fun (Nerd alert!), I love it. I play in it like a kid in a sandbox. It’s like a giant pub trivia game, one where you and I have immediate access to all of the answers.

For instance, did you know that nearly every day of the year is dedicated to someone or something, be it a saint, a cause or a donut? Some of these special days have been declared by national or royal decree. Today is Flag Day in Poland, and National Education Day in Indonesia, while here in the US, it’s National Truffle Day. I suspect Godiva had something to do with that. But for others, I have to wonder, who comes up with this stuff?

Tomorrow, May 3, is “Two Different Colored Shoes Day”.

YAY! Don’t we all wake up with the occasional yen to break out of the box, color outside the lines and just do something different, convention be damned? Of course we do. And then we have our first cup of coffee and get on with the same boring rituals we follow every Monday through Friday, year in and year out. We get up, comb our teeth and scrub our hair followed by a somnambulant sift through the closet to find something to wear and then it’s out the door. (How we aren’t already practicing Two Different Colored Shoes Day is a puzzlement.) And I don’t care how much we love our jobs, just getting there involves a lot of monotony. We could navigate the freeways in our sleep, we see the same groggy faces on the train, etc.

At long last, we have an excuse to be just that little bit zany, to make a break from the assembly line, to put a little spring in our step! In 2013, Dr. Arlene Kaiser, a former actor, educator and professional motivational speaker from (where else) California, created what has become known as “Two Different Colored Shoes Day” to promote “public awareness of the uniqueness and diversity of humanity through a national annual day event“. (I know what you’re thinking. I’d never heard of Dr. Kaiser either, but Google assured me she’s an expert who has been doing the shoe thing twice a week since the 80s.)

Frankly, she had me at “shoes”.

Of course, this is a relatively small act of rebellion, but it’s also one unlikely to get anyone hurt,

provided that we choose shoes of the same height

and it might even bring a smile to someone’s face and lighten an otherwise mundane Tuesday. So tomorrow, rather than spend yet another 365 days conforming to what society has told us is appropriate, consider celebrating Two Different Colored Shoes Day.

Of course you do still have to choose WHICH shoes. Can’t help you there, but I understand the struggle, Comrade.

Sure, you might get some stares in public, and your boss might wonder if you’ve finally snapped, but you can tell him that you’re observing the day, taking a stand and celebrating diversity, punctuated with a fist pump! Tell her that breaking free fosters creativity! Or you can simply smile… and kick up your heels.

I’m getting a head start. By the way, Nerd Day (officially it’s Geek Day) is May 25, in case you wanted to make plans.

So, are you going to go for it? What other small acts of rebellion do you commit to tell the world it’s better to be Abby Someone, than normal?